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Grounded-In-Biblical-Truth |
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Gospel is defined as "good news" (from Old English godspel [god = "good" + spell = "tale"]). In its Biblical context, the gospel is "the joyous proclamation of God's redemptive work in Christ Jesus on behalf of man enslaved by sin."
The gospel was first preached by God in the Garden of Eden to the serpent who had been instrumental in the sin of Adam and Eve, and in their presence. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). This text is called the protevangelium (pronounced proed-ee-van-'jel- eeum; from New Latin prot = "first" + evangelium = "evangel"), the "first preaching of the gospel."
This text is also the first prophecy of Christ. Christ, the Messiah (John 4:25), is God's divine Son and Anointed One (Psalm 2), Redeemer of sinners and King of the earth. He is here identified as the Seed of the woman, "her Seed." This protevangelium and first Messianic prophecy teaches us:
I. The incarnation of Christ: God calls Him "her Seed." In order for sinful mortals to be redeemed from their sins, a fellow-mortal must perfectly obey God's law and pay the price of their redemption with his own blood. No mere mortal is capable of doing so (Romans 3:23; Psalm 49:6-9). But Christ has done so in His incarnation, being born of a woman (Galatians 4:4f): "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
II. The virgin-birth of Christ: God calls Him "her Seed." The Redeemer cannot be begotten through normal generation (seed of man and egg of woman) because He would thereby be personally represented in Adam and possess original sin. Christ was therefore born of a virgin, becoming "her seed." That virgin, Mary, was therefore told, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God"(Luke 1:34f).
III. The victory of Christ: God declared to Satan, "And I will put enmity ... between your seed and her Seed [Christ]; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." This enmity between Christ and Satan was manifested throughout the earthly ministry of the Son of God, as in His temptation by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11) and His binding of Satan (Matthew 12:28f; Revelation 20:1-3). This enmity climaxed at the crucifixion of Christ. Satan bruised the "heel" of Christ, His lowest part, in the death of His human nature. But in His death Christ crushed the "head" of Satan, his capital part, with a complete victory over him (Hebrews 2:14): "that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
This glorious victory of Christ over Satan has resulted in a glorious change in those sinners in whose place He suffered and died. God here in the protevangelium also declares to Satan: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed." The seed of the woman not only denotes Christ (as already noted), but also that portion of humanity which is in Him through God's election (Ephesians 1:4) and their own faith (Galatians 3:26f). They are by nature friends with Satan and at enmity against God. God declares He Himself will reverse this sad state of affairs. (This text is not a command from God to man, but the promise of what God will perform in man.)
Here is prophesied the glorious work of spiritual regeneration, in which children of the devil are transformed into children of God (John 3:5-8; 1:12f; Colossians 1:13) so that they may believe the gospel (as in Acts 16:14). God hereby causes lovers of Satan to hate him and his demons (Satan's "seed"), and haters of God to love Him. And they are assured that "the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20).
Your servant for Jesus' sake.
Address all questions to pastor
Daniel E. Parks (2 Corinthians 4:5) e-mail RedeemerBC@aol.com
Pastor, Redeemer Baptist Church
2801 Cleveland Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40206 / 502.899-9205
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